Gulf Air

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Atkinson" <johnmatkinson@yahoo.com>
> (The quote is  from one of my wargame friends who was  flying a recon
copter
> > at Fort Sill and I	suspect he was at the Gulf war). The estimates I
> > heard at the time was  that Sadam could contest the air over his
forces
for at least 2
> > to 3 weeks after he invaded Kuwait.
>
> Reality check:  Saddamn couldn't contest the air over his own country
for
6 hours.

Maybe a misunderstanding here ?
I think Scott was referring to August 1989, right after the Iraqi
invasion,
when only the locally available air forces could fight him. I think John
is
speaking about Desert Storm in February 1990.

The Air Force / Aircraft carrier build-up took time, too, although not
as
much as the army. Sustaining an air offensive against Iraq from the
original
bases would have been very difficult due to long flight times and
refuelling
requirements. This still is a generally overlooked weakness of air
power.
Even with air refuelling, you still need reasonably nearby bases for
effective warfare. Staging single raids is different, that you can do
from
anywhere.

Greetings